Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 66

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 66. The Demon Sword Breaker Ascends the Wall
“What did you say?”
Gwang Bi Chang’s brow furrowed.
Ho Yeon found the sight so absurd that laughter burst from his lips.
“Hahahaha! Ha-ha-ha! Cough!”
His inverted insides surged up again, forcing him to spit blood once more, yet the strange elation did not fade.
“I sense no Mansang Yusim emanating from you.”
“You. Do you know what Mansang Yusim is?”
At Ho Yeon’s words, Gwang Bi Chang asked with his expression turning rigid.
Only those who had reached that state—or those who had heard of it from such a person—truly understood Mansang Yusim.
‘Could it be? Is there someone nearby who has reached Mansang Yusim? A superhuman of the True Transformation Realm?’
If so, it would be a problem.
“A meddlesome old man told me about it.”
“What?”
“Because I did not sense it in you, I mistook you for one of the Wall-breakers I had encountered in the past.”
Ho Yeon shook his head, speaking as though the notion were preposterous.
“But you were not. You fall far short of them. You are foolish, much like I was long ago.”
“You wretched brat! What nonsense! I have reached a realm you could never attain in a lifetime!”
When his martial pride—the very core of his being—was belittled, Gwang Bi Chang flared up and roared.
“Ha! Do you imagine you can scratch the wall you cannot climb? Throw whatever cheap provocations you wish! I am a Wall-breaker, the very pinnacle of this vast Gangho Murim!”
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Gwang Bi Chang lunged forward like an enraged bear, treading the Geum Jeong Pae Bo.
Ho Yeon drew a Gold-foil Pill from his breast and tossed it into his mouth.
Gulp!
The Cheon Gang Dan dissolved away in his throat.
Whoosh!
Yet its Spiritual Qi remained, cleanly healing Ho Yeon’s Internal Injuries.
More than that, it restored the depleted inner power of his Lower Dantian all at once.
Crack! Crack-crack!
Most importantly, his Blood Pathways and Blood Vessels throughout his body—including the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Standard Meridians—began to transform, brimming with Spiritual Qi.
The process resembled rewinding thin, frayed cordage with fresh straw to make it sturdy and thick anew.
The annoyingly narrow passages opened wide, and the currents of Spiritual Qi swept through every alley, scourging away the Turbid Qi that had clogged them.
“Haah, breathe.”
Ho Yeon drew a short breath and assessed his body’s condition.
‘Given the inner power I possess, I have reached the Peak Extreme State. For very brief moments, I might even exceed it.’
At this level—
It was possible.
Shimmer!
A thin band of sharp blue Qi coiled around the Cheon Noe Geom’s edge.
It was a luminous Sword Energy Strand drawn without resorting to tricks.
“Remarkable talent, truly. But even that ends today—what a waste!”
Gwang Bi Chang extended his right fist, infused with Gi Gang, his words tinged with admiration and caution alike.
The Hwang Geuk Jung Gwon he had mastered, along with the Hwang Ryong Jang Gi Gong, were the supreme techniques of an absolute master once renowned as the Yellow Dragon Emperor in ages past.
The yellow dragon has long symbolized the emperor—the avatar of earth, positioned at the center of all four directions.
The Hwang Geuk Jung Gwon was a peerless fist art of offense and defense combined, crafted to embody these very properties of the yellow dragon.
Boom!
Gwang Bi Chang’s right fist unleashed a dragon’s roar as it targeted Ho Yeon’s chest.
With this one technique of the Jung Cheon Pa Ryong, the boy would be reduced to a handful of blood.
Clash!
Against it, Ho Yeon countered with a precisely honed Sword Energy Strand, thrusting at a single point.
It was the Changgoong Jeomseong—pricking the stars of the boundless sky, a technique of the Changgoong Muae Geombeop.
A reckless act, like stabbing a boulder with a toothpick, yet Ho Yeon’s clear eyes burned with unwavering conviction.
Crack!
Shatter!
“……!”
Gwang Bi Chang’s eyes flew wide open.
The Gi Gang—the force capable of destroying all things in the world—shattered like glass.
‘Impossible!’
Whoosh!
His mind reeled in chaos, but his trained body automatically extended a distance to retreat.
A sallow Gang Gi swirled around Gwang Bi Chang’s left hand, aimed squarely at Ho Yeon’s head.
Crack!
In that instant, the Cheon Noe Gi spun around Ho Yeon’s index finger, and a thin bolt of lightning blazed forth, shattering Gwang Bi Chang’s Gang Gi once more.
Boom!
“Wh-what sorcery is this—!”
Then Ho Yeon’s sleeve billowed as the Cheon Noe Gyeok erupted.
Crash!
Gwang Bi Chang crossed both arms to block, but the broken Gang Gi prevented him from fully dispersing the recoil.
Snap! Crack-crack!
The acrid smell of singed flesh rose from both arms, but Gwang Bi Chang’s eyes remained fixed on Ho Yeon, whose pale blue gaze burned with an eerie calm.
“You wretch! What cursed technique have you learned? Breaking Gang Gi—!”
“Sorcery?”
A thin smile crossed Ho Yeon’s lips.
At Gwang Bi Chang’s outcry, Ho Yeon pulled his mouth into a smirk.
“Why would this be sorcery? It should be common knowledge that finely honed Sword Energy strands overcome coarse Gang Gi.”
“Nonsense! You’re spouting impossible sophistry!”
Gwang Bi Chang’s face flushed crimson as he bellowed in rage.
Ho Yeon’s words denied the very foundation of martial knowledge Gwang Bi Chang had always known.
Sword Energy could never overcome Gang Gi.
That was absolute law.
Watching the disbelief flood Gwang Bi Chang’s face, Ho Yeon spoke coldly.
“I’ve never met a Wall-breaker quite like you. To wield Gang Gi so crudely.”
“What?!”
“What do you even think Gang Gi is? Just strong Qi? If that were all it was, why use the character for Heavenly Network instead of mere strength?”
Gwang Bi Chang couldn’t grasp Ho Yeon’s words at all.
Gang Gi was the force that destroyed all things—the enemies he’d slain throughout his life proved it.
An oppressive, tyrannical power. Surely that was Gang Gi?
“Fool. The character for Heavenly Network combines ‘net’ and ‘straight’—it means a properly woven net.”
“Properly woven… a net…?”
“The reason False Gang Gi is called false is that it contains only the warp threads—a coarse grid with no true structure. That’s not sorcery; it’s simply incomplete.”
Strings of light rippled outward.
Ho Yeon began drawing Sword Energy strands from the Cheon Noe Geom in cascading torrents.
Like the strings of a zither, they stretched downward in perfect columns, weaving around the blade without a single gap.
‘I can manage half again this much.’
Qi was draining from his Qi Hai Acupoint like an ebb tide.
Keeping his opponent’s movements contained had already pushed his Yin Tang Acupoint to its limit.
Tap! Tap-tap-tap!
Ho Yeon stepped forward in the Tremor Step, closing the distance to Gwang Bi Chang with brutal speed.
If he couldn’t finish this in a rush, he would die. If he let this drag into a war of attrition, he would die.
Yet beneath this mounting urgency, Ho Yeon’s voice emerged measured and composed.
“Pathetic. So obsessed with the illusion of Universal Heart-Mind that you’ve neglected to master the very weapon in your hands.”
“You bastard!”
Clang! Crash!
Gwang Bi Chang drove Gang Gi through both fists, only to watch it shatter again against Ho Yeon’s False Gang Gi.
Scrape!
“Ugh!”
“You’ve mastered a martial art of defense and offense combined, yet you still wear Body Armor. Are you admitting your technique is incomplete?”
“Damn you!”
Boom-boom-boom!
Stung by Ho Yeon’s mockery, Gwang Bi Chang whirled the Hwang Ryong Jang Gi Gong at maximum velocity, attempting to overwhelm him with the relentless barrage of the Golden Lotus Continuous Strike.
But.
“This is where it breaks—where the structure splinters.”
Crack! Clang!
The moment Ho Yeon’s blade connected, the Gang Gi from both fists shattered without fail.
The sight was identical to when Ho Yeon had casually flicked an ordinary Iron Sword with his fingernail until it crumbled into powder.
“Wh-what is this?! What’s the problem?!”
Gwang Bi Chang screamed in despair, unleashing the Vacuum-Shattering Tremor technique to strike the empty air.
Whoosh!
The shockwave swept outward in all directions, and Ho Yeon stepped back with the Light Stride, flaring backward like a blazing tongue of flame before landing.
Ho Yeon exhaled, dispelling the recoil, and opened his mouth to speak.
“What’s the problem, you ask? Obviously, it’s a matter of Li Principle.”
“Li… Li Principle?”
“Li Principle means to work jade with its grain. No matter how beautifully you shape it, if you ignore the grain, the jade will shatter.”
Click!
Ho Yeon adjusted his grip on the Cheon Noe Geom, which gleamed beneath a smooth and elegant Gi Gang, and continued speaking.
“Hair has its grain, water has its grain, even breath has its grain. Did you think Qi had none?”
“……Grain?”
Gwang Bi Chang stared at the Gang Gi gathered in his fists.
Though it still radiated formidable power, a closer inspection revealed the threads of his inner force twisted into a chaotic tangle, like an ugly knot of yarn.
“Your Gang Gi looks like hair someone combed any which way. My mother would faint if she saw it.”
“I, I… this is…!”
“It’s too late to fix it now.”
Thud!
Ho Yeon stepped on Son Bo and his body shot forward in a sudden burst.
Gwang Bi Chang gritted his teeth and deployed Ho Sin Gang Gi at full force.
At once, the golden armor blessed by heaven itself—Geum Gap Cheon Ho—enveloped his entire body in protection.
This was the supreme defensive technique borrowing the Earth element of the Yellow Dragon.
Yet.
“A flimsy shell with tangled warp and weft threads sewn together haphazardly. It’s as good as going naked!”
Crash! Crack!
Ho Yeon’s brilliant blue Gi Gang struck precisely at the grain of Geum Gap Cheon Ho, shattering the Ho Sin Gang Gi, golden fragments scattering through the air.
Thud!
“Ahhhhh!”
The Cheon Noe Geom sank deep into Gwang Bi Chang’s shoulder, and his face twisted with the terror of death.
‘Impossible… this monster! This is sorcery!’
This man, who had shattered all common sense, no longer appeared human to him.
Gwang Bi Chang’s mind recalled a term that had been popularized by the world’s greatest master three hundred years ago.
Gyeok Sang Sal.
But that word should never have had anything to do with him in his lifetime.
A Wall-breaker of the True Transformation Realm—not First-Class Extreme, not Peak Extreme, not Super Peak—suffering Gyeok Sang Sal?
“No, nooooo!”
Bang! Crash-slam!
Gwang Bi Chang chose to flee at last.
But Ho Yeon had no intention of letting him go.
Whisk!
Ho Yeon spun his hand, still gripping the Geom Gyeol Ji, and the corpse of Jeok Do Gwang, sprawled on the ground, twitched.
The moment Gwang Bi Chang tried to step over Jeok Do Gwang’s body.
Clench!
“Ugh!”
Jeok Do Gwang’s corpse seized Gwang Bi Chang’s ankle.
“This… this insanity! Let go! Let go!”
Smack! Smack! Crunch!
Gwang Bi Chang, believing Jeok Do Gwang dead, panicked and delivered vicious kicks when the corpse gripped his ankle.
Though his kicks reduced Jeok Do Gwang’s body to something like minced meat, those white bones rattling in skeletal fingers clung with the terrible strength of a demon from hell itself, refusing to release him.
“No, noooo!”
Gwang Bi Chang felt none of this was real.
Could he be dreaming?
Crash!
The moment Gwang Bi Chang exposed a physical and mental opening, Ho Yeon seized it.
Thud!
He succeeded in approaching swiftly from behind and driving his fading Gi Gang into Gwang Bi Chang’s back.
“Cough! Gurgle!”
“Wheeze! Wheeze! Cough!”
As Ho Yeon felt the sensation of his fingers piercing flesh and organs, he finally released the breath he’d been holding and coughed up blood.
‘That was close……’
Ho Yeon staggered backward.
Though he had maintained an appearance of ease, the truth was he had been pushed to the edge of his limits.
Not a handful of inner force remained in his Qi Hai Acupoint, and his Yin Tang Acupoint lay as empty as a barren storehouse, his head throbbing painfully.
Blood streamed steadily from his nose, and a ringing like insects crawling inside his ears echoed ceaselessly.
‘If that man hadn’t crumbled of his own accord, it would have been difficult.’
Of course, this outcome was partly something Ho Yeon had orchestrated as well.
Throughout the fight, he’d waged a war of nerves against Gwang Bi Chang.
He’d dismantled his martial techniques one by one, eroding his confidence with each counter.
And in the final moment, he’d used the corpse of the dead Jeok Do Gwang to create an opening.
Of course, the fact that he’d fought through Jeok Do Gwang and the other Pateuang Mun disciples beforehand was also a factor in his victory.
And above all else.
“This can’t… be… hack! I am… a Wall-breaker… cough!”
Gwang Bi Chang.
He was not a true Wall-breaker.
“Gasp! Gasp! A new martial philosophy? Good, that’s fine. But that doesn’t mean everything old is worthless.”
“Hack! Kack!”
“Breaking through a wall isn’t what matters. Which wall you broke through is what matters.”
Ho Yeon gazed into Gwang Bi Chang’s eyes, clouded with desperation, and spoke flatly.
“Don’t peek over a village wall and mistake the view for what I see.”
“Nngh…”
Thud!
Gwang Bi Chang’s massive frame collapsed like rotting timber.
Whisk.
Ho Yeon, watching the scene unfold, wiped the blood pooling at his lips and muttered to himself.
“Whew, all that trouble for a single rabbit dropping.”
Though, to be fair, the effect had been remarkable.
His realm had leaped from First-Class Extreme State directly to Peak Extreme State in a single stroke.
But Ho Yeon couldn’t help thinking the reward seemed paltry compared to the ordeal he’d endured.
“Maybe I should demand a bonus.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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